A Second Chance - I

As she saw Rafael dodge the opposition and dive towards the hoop, Ashley hoped he would dunk the ball. And yes – the ball went flying through the basket in the last few seconds of the match…! Rafael’s team had won!

Everyone lifted Rafael in jubilation. Amidst the chaos, their eyes collided and she could sense the euphoria he was feeling. His enchanting smile was magnified in this moment of extreme joy. He held her eyes, gave her a thumbs up but before she could mouth ‘well done’, Rafael was pulled down on the court and everyone huddled around him. So much emotion over a month end basketball match, Ashley thought smiling to herself. Only men could conjure up the energy for this.

As the huddle broke, she picked Rafael with ease. Of course, the fact that he wore his favorite black jersey made him easy to pick, but she could have picked him out of a ground full of similar clad people.

As he walked out of the group of excited men, his eyes connected with hers. And he smiled just for her. And the world ceased to exist. The noise, the commotion, all disappeared as he started walking towards her. She got up in time to receive a bone crushing hug from him. He got into an animated description about how the game had gone. She did not stop him even though she had just seen the entire match from court side seats! As they walked away from the court, Ashley realized just how much she looked forward to their upcoming vacation. They barely got quality time together nowadays.

As Rafael headed to wash up, she proceeded to the bar as always.

‘What should I get you?’ asked Jim.

‘Why don’t you surprise me today?’, Ashley smiled back. The bartender smiled and walked towards his work station.

It was a bar just like this one where Michael had asked her out. She always wanted her partner to be her best friend, someone she knew inside out. And one who knew her as well. She had known him for close to 4 years by when she had realized he was going to be a very vital part of her life. Saying yes seemed so natural.

She met Rafael the first time when Michael took her home to meet his parents. Rafael was Michael’s older brother. During the days leading to the wedding preparation, she got to know Rafael better. Lunches, dinners, movies, shopping trips. Some with Michael, some without.

But a dark Christmas morning, four months before the wedding, Michael went to pick some lumber and never came back. A trailer had lost purchase on fresh show and crashed headlong into Michael’s car. Had he lived, he would have been a vegetable. Mercifully, he had died on the spot.

Ashley did not remember much apart from going home to be with her family. She had quit her job and left the city where everything reminded her of Michael.

When she had moved back to the city after two months, her old boss was more than willing to take her back. Rafael helped her find a convenient apartment, was around to help her move. He asked her out two years after Michael died.

Rafael’s voice broke her reverie and brought her back to planet earth.

‘Are we being adventurous today?’, Rafael slid on the barstool next to her and looked at his green concoction quizzically.

‘It’s got kiwi and lime’, Ashley mouthed while sipping her drink.

‘Why does your drink look so much easier on the eyes’, Rafael had not even touched his glass,’ Like I have always told you - Jim likes you better’. He took a tentative sip of the green liquid.

’Did you like your drinks ?’,pointed more towards Rafael than Ashley.

‘It’s not as bad as it looks actually. It’s quite nice. Well done Jim. Tell me, how are your classes going?’

She could not take her eyes off Rafael. He was everything to her. She would never have imagined the gaping hole in her heart to disappear one day. Soon, it would be five years since the fateful accident. She could think about Michael without an ache in her chest. She could remember him fondly for who he was, for what they had shared.

She had never thought she could be happy again. But she was. Life had given her a second chance. She had found love again.

All that glitters is definitely not gold

I came back early from work one evening - it is a rarity to reach home at the time when kids are still howling in the playground. I assumed some hectic, energetic sport must be on. You can imagine my surprise, when I rounded the corner and came upon a large huddle of kids jumping excitedly. By kids, I mean a group of around 14 with ages ranging from 12 to 16 yrs.

I was very curious and waited till the commotion died down. I walked up to them and asked them what they had been doing. They were having matches on their PSPs! It was only after they mentioned the gadgets, did I notice the PSPs that the girls were ‘preparing for the next match’! They were playing some god-forsaken car racing game!

Since I stood there quite stunned, one of them assumed I was waiting for more information. So he took me through their gaming routine.

In the morning, they usually didn’t come out to play because of the sun.

‘We don’t want to get tanned in the sun’. Wonder where these kids get their Vitamin D.

Evenings are spent at some class or the other. Classes for Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and even History and Geography! Wow… really? Science and Math I can understand. But History? And Geography? I know it’s been a decade since I wrote an exam for these papers, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t that tough!

Anyway, among the group of 17 odd who play in our society, more than a dozen kids have PSPs, 4 of them have PS3s and 2 of them have Xbox consoles...! On any given day, everyone is occupied till 7 pm in some form of tuition or the other. They are obviously quite exhausted and not in the mood for any physical activity post that. These kids have scheduled gaming matches after careful discussion about their schedules. Each gadget has it’s appointed day of glory and there is a clear timeline for each one to bring their gadgets as well….! So this is their substitute for actual games...!

As I am listening to what all games can be played on the respective game consoles, I start noticing other things around me.

Some of these kids are messaging, checking facebook (I know cause one of these tykes sent me a friend request), emails or randomly checking their phones (I guess they were waiting for me to leave). What annoyed me, I guess, is that they were all sitting right there but yet they were pre-occupied on their phones.

But, what possibly annoyed me more - were the phones these kids were carrying. I can see at least 4 Blackberry phones, 2 iphones, and some fancy touch phones. Why the hell do they need such fancy phones?

As I stood scrutinizing these spoilt brats, I was distracted by ‘Aryan tumhari toh main pitayi karungi’. This is followed by an energetic kid, roughly 2 feet in all, who is rushing out of the building. Aryan is my neighbor. After close to 5 secs, he was followed out of the building by the house help.

And it hit me.

You know guilty conscious parents? The type who want to make up for the time they don’t spend with their children? They need not actually feel guilty about it – but for some odd reason they do.

I was seeing a prime example of that right in front of my eyes. I know which kid belongs to what household. Most of them are dual income households. Working parents with hectic work lives. Pushing themselves, making sacrifices for a better future.

Parents, in my generation, were not ambitious enough. Or maybe there were and they gave it all up so that they are around when we were growing up.

My mother waited up for me each day when I got back from school. If I had a particularly long day, she would prepare my favorite eats and treats.After an hour of my favorite cartoons, we would sit for studies. An hour of studies at max and we were free to go play!

We did not have fancy gadgets growing up. We pretty much grew up on games and sports our parents grew up on. We have fallen and had a fair share of bruises which we carried with pride (really it was quite cool to be seen with a bandage and red antiseptic liquid which resembled blood).

We attended classes to aid our studies. But now, the classes take up more time that the time spent at school…! And I don’t really blame these students/parents – it is damn competitive today.

I felt bad for this bunch I was talking to. They do not have the time to be children! Maybe these kids deserve the gadgets and the fancy material life.

I have something priceless of my own - I have the memory of a childhood.

Missing my doctor....

Since childhood, I have been a very ill child. Every specialist a person could end up visiting through the course of their life, was a part of my life within the first 3 yrs of my life. I am used to eating pills and taking nasty concoctions. Syringes, are another story altogether. I cannot think of even going for a blood test on my own. Till date, the pathologist I go to-is used to my showing up with either of my parents. I usually go early and wait in queue for my turn. The doctor patiently waits for my parent/s to turn up. After some light hearted teasing, he would prepare a new syringe for my blood test. He would give me a chocolate after the test and does so even to this day. Sort of removes the sting off the blood test!

I have gone to the same doctor since childhood. You know how you feel when you meet your childhood doctor? Just by being so sensitive, they make you feel like they will make you better in no time. That he will make you fit and fine? That he knows exactly what is wrong with you. Am pretty sure placebo effect is at work when he is involved. I feel I am getting better just after leaving his clinic.

My point is: I have always had the good fortune to be blessed with amazing doctors. The type who understand the fears of the patient and deal with it in a very loving manner. And somewhere I assumed every doctor would be the same.

Recently though, my illusions were shattered. My doctor migrated to the states. Since he migrated I have somehow managed to not fall ill. But I tried a new doctor when I had sore throat recently.

Just a background: This doctor is roughly in his early 30s. Has a fancy clinic near my house. Has gleaming expensive magazines stacked in the waiting area. Essentially, a place screaming of success. However, my meeting with him was a total washout.

After taking my history, which lasted a total of 10 mins, we had a rather brief discussion. This is how the meeting went:

Doc: since how long have you had sore throat?

Me: yesterday

Doc: how badly does it hurt?

Me: hurts when I swallow.

Doc: On a scale of one to ten, ten being the highest: how badly does it hurt?

Briefly about me: I come from a background in market research. And when I heard the scale question, I couldn’t stop laughing in my head. And since he wasn’t anywhere as pleasant as my previous doctor, I decided to be obtuse.

Me: 6.5

Doc says: do you get relief from hot or cold foods?

Me: hot foods.

And that was it. He didn’t even check my throat. I am definitely not going back to him.

Are doctors as a breed becoming more mechanical? just about turning around more and more patients in a single day? Is there no human factor? Am I right in feeling cheated? Or am I being too expectant? 

Or did I go to one who was dead inside?

Either way, the experience left a bad taste in my throat...errr mouth. I want my doctor back!